ELLIE
spent the summer before seventh grade getting dropped by her best
friend since forever. JACK spent it training in “The Cage” with his
tough-as-nails brothers and hard-to-please dad. By the time middle
school starts, they’re both ready for a change. And just as Jack’s
thinking girls have it so easy, Ellie’s wishing she could be anyone but
herself.

Then, BAM! They swap lives—and bodies!

Now Jack’s
fending off mean girls at sleepover parties while Ellie’s reigning as
the Prince of Thatcher Middle School. As their crazy weekend races
on—and their feelings for each other grow—Ellie and Jack begin to
realize that maybe the best way to learn how to be yourself is to spend a
little time being someone else.

“I did my best to keep you from crossing paths with this world. And I shall do my best to protect you now that you have.”

Jessamin
has been an outcast since she moved from her island home of Melei to
the dreary country of Albion. Everything changes when she meets Finn, a
gorgeous, enigmatic young lord who introduces her to the secret world of
Albion’s nobility, a world that has everything Jessamin doesn’t—power,
money, status…and magic. But Finn has secrets of his own, dangerous
secrets that the vicious Lord Downpike will do anything to possess.
Unless Jessamin, armed only with her wits and her determination, can
stop him.

Kiersten White captured readers’ hearts with her New
York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy and its effortless mix of
magic and real-world teenage humor. She returns to that winning
combination of wit, charm, and enchantment in Illusions of Fate, a
sparkling and romantic new novel perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare,
The Madman’s Daughter, and Libba Bray.

The first book
in an epic middle grade fantasy adventure series that takes place in an
underground society at the center of the earth. Packed with action,
humor, magic, and mystery.

After following a mysterious
map into the woods and then under the woods, eleven-year-old Albert
Flynn learns he’s a Balance Keeper—someone with special magical skills
for fixing problems in three underground Realms at the Core of the
earth. His new job is important; if the realms fall out of balance, the
world above could be in great danger.

Albert and his Balance
Keeper teammates Birdie and Leroy arrive in the Core not a moment too
soon. There’s an Imbalance in the Calderon Realm and it’s threatening to
bury Albert’s hometown of New York City in a mountain of ash.

The
three must train hard completing mental and physical challenges, but
above all, they must harness the power of their Tiles—unique superpowers
given to each Balance Keeper. So far, Albert’s mastered the art of not
mastering his Tile....

With the situation in Calderon growing
worse every day, can Albert, Leroy, and Birdie restore balance before
New York is destroyed forever? Will Albert master his Tile before it’s
too late?

I remembered my name –
Mara. But, standing in that ghostly place, faced with the solemn young
man in the black coat with silver skulls for buttons, I could recall
nothing else about myself.

And then the games began.

The
Messenger sees the darkness in young hearts, and the damage it inflicts
upon the world. If they go unpunished, he offers the wicked a game. Win,
and they can go free. Lose, and they will live out their greatest fear.

But what does any of this have to do with Mara? She is about to find out . .

Truth is stranger than legend . . . and your journey into both begins here.

World
adventurer and international monster hunter Josh Gates has careened
through nearly 100 countries, investigating frightening myths, chilling
cryptozoological legends, and terrifying paranormal phenomena. Now, he
invites fans to get a behind-the-scenes look at these breathtaking
expeditions.

Follow Gates from the inception of the
groundbreaking hit show (at the summit of Kilimanjaro) to his
hair-raising encounters with dangerous creatures in the most treacherous
locations on earth. Among his many adventures, he unearths the
flesh-crawling reality of the Mongolian Death Worm, challenges an
ancient curse by spending the night in King Tut’s tomb,
descends into a centuries-old mine to search for an alien entity in
subterranean darkness, pursues ghosts in the radioactive shadow of
Chernobyl, and explores sightings of Bigfoot from the leech-infested
rain forests of Malaysia to the dizzying heights of the Himalayas.

Part
journey into the unexplained, part hilarious travelogue, part
fascinating look at the making of a reality-based TV show, and
featuring never-before-published photographs; this Destination Truth companion takes readers on the supernatural expedition of a lifetime.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Your new book, FERAL,
was released on August 26.Can you
tell readers a bit about it?

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological
thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think
you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire
Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her
father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out
will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense
of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular
high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the
town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire
knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to
realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained
in that Chicago alley….

FERAL’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will
keep readers guessing until the very last page.

FERAL takes on a different
subject matter and genre than your past books.What inspired you to write a YA thriller?

Like
psychological thrillers, FERAL features mystery, horror, and paranormal
elements, but the emphasis is on the “psychological” rather than thriller /
action.The novel features a
Hitchcockian pace and focus on character development (here, we’re exploring the
inner workings of the main character, Claire Cain).

Essentially,
every aspect of FERAL is used to explore Claire’s inner workings—that even
includes the wintry Ozarks setting.The water metaphor is employed frequently in psychological thrillers to
represent the subconscious, and in this instance is incorporated in the form of
a brutal ice storm (that represents Claire’s “frozen” inner state).The attempt to untangle what is real
from what is unreal (another frequently-used aspect of the psychological
thriller) also begins to highlight the extent to which Claire was hurt in that
Chicago alley.Even the
explanation of the odd occurrences in the town of Peculiar offers an
exploration into and portrait of Claire’s psyche.

Ultimately,
FERAL is a book about recovering from violence—that’s not just a lengthy or
hard process; it’s a terrifying process, too.The conventions of the classic psychological thriller
allowed me to explore that frightening process in detail.

Can you talk a bit about
your road to being published?How
do things change once you’re an established author?

My
road to the first publication was really long: it took seven and a half years
of full-time effort to land my first deal.

My
first two books (both YAs) were with a smaller house.I actually handled the first two deals myself; shortly
thereafter, I signed with an agent who wanted to represent my MG.

I
know most people assume an agent is a magical creature who can instantly open
doors in the publishing world.In
reality, it took my own agent a year and a half to sell my MG (THE JUNCTION OF
SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, which released with Dial / Penguin earlier this year).At that point, I knew I wanted to bring
the agent in on the rest of my work—including the YAs.We agreed that it was time to seek a
larger house to publish the YAs as well…But even with an agent and two YAs (one
of which was critically acclaimed, having earned a starred review and several
awards) on my side, it took a year to sell my third YA, FERAL, to
HarperTeen.

When
I started out, I assumed that selling the first book would change
everything.That once I’d inked
the first contract, I’d be “in” the publishing world, and my work would be
handled differently.Not so.Just as the world doesn’t magically
change by signing with the agent, the world doesn’t change once you’ve sold a
few books, either.It’s still a
process of submission and rejection.

That’s
an important distinction, though: the PROCESS remains the same.Am I the same person I was when I
jumped into my pursuit of publication?No.I know myself as an
author far better than I did when I was starting out.I know what I want my books to say.And that makes the process far less
scary.I also don’t have the same
approach to finding a publishing house that I did when I was seeking my first
book deal.I don’t just want my
book to be accepted by a house, I want my book to find the RIGHT house, the
right editor who recognizes and connects with what I’m doing.

What are five books that you
would suggest every teen read?

1.CATCHER IN THE RYE –
Salinger.It’s considered, by
some, to be the first YA novel written.

2.SPEAK – Anderson.I consider it a seminal work in
contemporary YA literature.

3.ELSEWHERE – Zevin.My favorite YA read.

4.TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD – Lee.You’ll probably get this one assigned
to you in class—I did.And it was
hands-down my favorite high school read.

5.A book outside of your usual
genre of preference.I think it’s
important to move outside of your comfort zone.Reading tastes are somewhat like food preferences—a lot of
it’s based on trial and error and multiple exposures.Just because you didn’t much care for literary reads a few
years ago doesn’t mean you won’t like them now.Give a new genre a shot, keeping an open mind.

What’s next for you, any new
books in the work?

Youbetcha!I’m always working on something new…In
fact, I recently finished both my next YA and MG, and I’m working on branching
out into new genres.Be sure to
follow along with me on Twitter: @Holly_Schindler and facebook.com/HollySchindlerAuthor
to keep up to date with the latest news!

Holly Schindler is
the author of the critically acclaimed A BLUE SO DARK(Booklist starred review, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year silver
medal recipient, IPPY Awards gold medal recipient) as well as PLAYING HURT(both YAs).

Her
debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY,also released in ’14, and became a favorite of teachers and
librarians, who used the book as a read-aloud.KirkusReviewscalled THE JUNCTION “...a heartwarming
and uplifting story...[that] shines...with vibrant themes of community,
self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.”

FERAL
is Schindler’s third YA and first psychological thriller.Publishers Weekly gave FERAL a starred
review, stating, “Opening with
back-to-back scenes of exquisitely imagined yet very real horror, Schindler’s
third YA novel hearkens to the uncompromising demands of her debut, A BLUE SO
DARK…This time, the focus is on women’s voices and the consequences they suffer
for speaking…This is a story about reclaiming and healing, a process that is
scary, imperfect, and carries no guarantees.”

Schindler
encourages readers to get in touch.Booksellers, teen librarians, and teachers can also contact her directly
regarding Skype visits.She can be
reached at hollyschindlerbooks (at) gmail (dot) com, and can also be found at
hollyschindler.com, hollyschindler.blogspot.com, @holly_schindler, Facebook.com/HollySchindlerAuthor,
and hollyschindler.tumblr.com

FERAL
Trailer:

Rafflectopter form for a
giveaway of a signed copy of FERAL (running from Sept. 27- Oct. 13):

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Harper Price, peerless
Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a
strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities,
Harper's destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a
Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super
strength and lethal fighting instincts.

Just when life can't get
any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she's charged to
protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy
and possibly Harper's least favorite person. But things get complicated
when Harper starts falling for him—and discovers that David's own fate
could very well be to destroy Earth.

With snappy banter,
cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young
adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y'all beg
for more.

Best Bits: Can we just talk about how cute the cover is for a second? I love pink, and pearls, and orange, ugh it's awesome. Okay, moving forward. I'm always a bit skeptical when books involve the popular-turned-badass leading lady. Hawkins manages to have Harper maintain her sassiness, while gaining an understanding of herself. I think after five year, people know that I love character growth. I also liked the relationships. There's no insta-love, and probably the best part was watching Harper try to decide if she and her boyfriend, Ryan, really should be together (a common struggle in high school when couples tend to grow apart). I actually think that I am going to like this series more than Hawkins' previous Hex Hall books. This could be because I love southern settings (I'm one of like 15 people who watch Hart of Dixie). This could also be because there are funny moments littered throughout the book. Hex Hall was a bit more serious, and the sly humor in Rebel Belle made the book that much more enjoyable.

Nit Picks: I was sad to discover that this is going to be a series. My kingdom for a standalone! There is certainly more to be explored in follow-ups, but I would have liked a little more background on Harper's life. We see her adjusting to her new powers, but we don't see her explore grief due to the death of a family member.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

• Grab your current read• Open to a random page• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)• Share
the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add
the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Zombirule #2: After a fight, avoid turning away from a fallen zombie to hug your girlfriend with relief. Under no circumstances fail to tage that zombie again, or while you have your PTSD face buried in her shampoo-smelling hair, said zombie will stand up offscreen, give the audience time to scream, and then take a big ol' hunk of rib eye out of your back." -The Infects, Page 124, by Sean Beaudoin

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Mare Barrow's world is
divided by blood—those with red and those with silver. Mare and her
family are lowly Reds, destined to serve the Silver elite whose
supernatural abilities make them nearly gods. Mare steals what she can
to help her family survive, but when her best friend is conscripted into
the army she gambles everything to win his freedom. A twist of fate
leads her to the royal palace itself, where, in front of the king and
all his nobles, she discovers a power of her own—an ability she didn't
know she had. Except . . . her blood is Red.

To hide this
impossibility, the king forces her into the role of a lost Silver
princess and betroths her to one of his own sons. As Mare is drawn
further into the Silver world, she risks her new position to aid the
Scarlet Guard—the leaders of a Red rebellion. Her actions put into
motion a deadly and violent dance, pitting prince against prince—and
Mare against her own heart.

From debut author Victoria Aveyard
comes a lush, vivid fantasy series where loyalty and desire can tear you
apart and the only certainty is betrayal.

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